What is an NSF I/UCRC

CDADIC was established under the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) program. CDADIC has graduated from all three phases of the I/UCRC program and now operates as a self-sustained center. CDADIC continues to be based on the I/UCRC research center model linking the research and development needs of industry with university research capabilities.

NSF initiated the I/UCRC program to:

Increase industrial support for research through multi-company participation.

These centers focus on research issues relevant to industrial needs and technological advancement, providing a forum for faculty and industry to interact and to define an agenda of projects of mutual interest. They also involve graduate students in the research projects, providing them with an industrial perspective on research.

The I/UCRCs also enjoy the ability to apply for funds from a variety of NSF programs. NSF also helps pay these centers’ administrative costs. Clearly, the big advantage of this concept is a comprehensive cooperative research effort in which no one organization supports all of the principal costs.